Emily Kassie is an Emmy and Peabody nominated filmmaker and investigative journalist. Her feature debut, SUGARCANE, directed with Julian Brave NoiseCat, follows an investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school in British Columbia. SUGARCANE is premiering in the US Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

Kassie shoots, directs and reports stories on geopolitical conflict, humanitarian crises, corruption and the people caught in the crossfire. Her work for The New York Times, PBS Frontline, Netflix and others ranges from drug and weapons trafficking in the Saharan desert, to immigrant detention in the United States. In 2021, she smuggled into Taliban territory with PBS Newshour correspondent Jane Ferguson to report on their imminent siege of Kabul and targeted killing of female leaders. Her work has been honored with multiple Edward R. Murrow, National Magazine, World Press Photo and National Press Photographers awards. Her multimedia feature on the economic exploitation of the Syrian and West African refugee crises won the Overseas Press Club Award. Kassie was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2020 and is a 2023 New America fellow. Her first documentary, I MARRIED MY FAMILY'S KILLER, following couples in post-genocide Rwanda, won a Student Academy Award in 2015.